Socio-economic statistics for Acol, Kent

Is Acol in Thanet a nice place to live or is it a bit rough? We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics and demographics from UK government sources such as the 2021 Census and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They should give you a broad snapshot of the area and the surrounding locations. Are the residents of Acol older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Acol and Thanet? What is the claimant count in Acol and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

Acol Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Acol residents have in terms of formal qualifications as a percentage. The UK government breaks qualifications down into 7 levels. A detailed explanation of these levels can be found here. However, the Census groups these into just 4 \'levels\'. Here are some examples of the qualifications each census level represents when not stated;

Level 1 - GCSE grades D, E, F, or G & below
Level 2 - GCSE A*, A, B, C or O Level grades A, B or C
Level 3 - A or AS qualification at any grade
Level 4 - HNC, Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or Phd

In this first table we have compared Acol to the national average for England.

Level	Thanet Villages	England
No Qualifications	19.59%	18.08%
Level 1	11.17%	9.69%
Level 2	15.37%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.27%	5.32%
Level 3	18.99%	16.92%
Level 4	25.64%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Acol?

The largest employment sector in Acol is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	17.73%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	15.09%
Skilled Trades	12.5%
Associate Professional & Technical	12.34%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	11.81%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.94%
Elementary Occupations	7.76%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	6.29%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Acol Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Thanet Villages.

Age Band	Proportion
4 & under
5 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 49 years
50 - 64 years
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years & over

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Acol and Thanet

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Acol either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 73.91 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 26.09 of Acol residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Thanet Villages	73.91%	26.09%
Thanet	61.35%	38.65%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Acol has a significantly higher level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically wealthy area.

Acol compared to other wards in Thanet

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Birchington North	85.66%	14.34%
2	Kingsgate	85.4%	14.6%
3	Cliffsend and Pegwell	79.18%	20.82%
4	Cliftonville East	78.98%	21.02%
5	Bradstowe	77.46%	22.54%
6	Birchington South	75.63%	24.37%
7	St Peters (Thanet)	74.47%	25.53%
8	Thanet Villages	73.91%	26.09%
9	Nethercourt	73.6%	26.4%
10	Viking (Thanet)	73.56%	26.44%
11	Garlinge	68.66%	31.34%
12	Westbrook (Thanet)	65.4%	34.6%
13	Beacon Road	65.29%	34.71%
14	Sir Moses Montefiore	64.85%	35.15%
15	Northwood (Thanet)	61.81%	38.19%
16	Westgate-on-Sea	61.24%	38.76%
17	Salmestone	57.9%	42.1%
18	Dane Valley (Thanet)	51.91%	48.09%
19	Central Harbour	49.85%	50.15%
20	Eastcliff (Thanet)	43.03%	56.97%
21	Newington (Thanet)	42.28%	57.72%
22	Cliftonville West	33.39%	66.61%
23	Margate Central	26.92%	73.08%

Acol is ranked 8 out of 23 wards in Thanet for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Acol Health Statistics

Thanet Villages has a lower proportion of residents (very_good_pc-$ward_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Thanet Villages	44.14%	35.8%	14.17%	4.48%	1.42%
Thanet	41.97%	35.04%	15.75%	5.56%	1.67%
South East	49.98%	34.01%	11.77%	3.31%	0.93%
England	48.49%	33.71%	12.65%	3.98%	1.17%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How has the health of residents in Thanet changed since 2011?

Thanet residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.18% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	40.72%	35.11%	16.68%	5.8%	1.7%
2021	41.97%	35.04%	15.75%	5.56%	1.67%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Acol & Thanet Immigration Statistics

We have analysed the Census 2021 raw data on country of birth and compiled immigration statistics as percentages of the population. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. Below are the figures for Acol in the Thanet local area district.

Acol has a lower rate of immigrants than Thanet, the South East region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Thanet Villages	94.6%	5.4%
Thanet	90.24%	9.76%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Acol compared to other wards in Thanet

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Cliftonville West	76.13%	23.87%
2	Margate Central	80.59%	19.41%
3	Eastcliff	86.76%	13.24%
4	Central Harbour	88.73%	11.27%
5	Salmestone	88.88%	11.12%
6	Westbrook	89.02%	10.98%
7	Kingsgate	90.68%	9.32%
8	Viking	90.7%	9.3%
9	Dane Valley	91.17%	8.83%
10	Bradstowe	91.67%	8.33%
11	Cliftonville East	92.05%	7.95%
12	Newington	92.25%	7.75%
13	St Peters	92.44%	7.56%
14	Sir Moses Montefiore	93.01%	6.99%
15	Beacon Road	93.09%	6.91%
16	Westgate-on-Sea	93.28%	6.72%
17	Nethercourt	93.34%	6.66%
18	Cliffsend and Pegwell	93.4%	6.6%
19	Northwood	93.51%	6.49%
20	Birchington North	93.67%	6.33%
21	Birchington South	94.33%	5.67%
22	Garlinge	94.5%	5.5%
23	Thanet Villages	94.6%	5.4%

';Acol is ranked 23 out of 23 wards in Thanet for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Acol Unemployment Statistics

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, The Department for Work & Pensions have not issued any statistics (in our view) that can be used to ascertain the levels of unemployment or under employment in the UK, just meaningless geographic counts. However, the Office of National Statistics does publish claimant counts of people receiving out of work benefits, be that legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit as a proportion of people over 16. These figures are usually updated once a month and are for Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authority Districts. So below are the figures of Thanet.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Thanet	5.8%	-0.9%
South East	2.9%	-0.3%
England	3.8%	-0.3%
UK	3.7%	-0.3%

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Last Retrieved: March 2023

The 2021 census had data on people who were economically active (seeking work) yet unemployed on Census day (Sunday March 21st 2021). These statitics do cover Acol on a ward level. However, it has to be noted that the Census day was during the height of the Covid19 pandemic and therefore are not reflective of normal levels of unemployment. For example, between March 2020 and June 2020 people claiming Universal Credit doubled in most areas of the United Kingdom and then steadily declined up to the day of the Census and beyond. This data also contains the proportion of people in part-time work (working between 1-35 hours per week), which maybe an indicator of under employment in Acol.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	55.02%
In Part-Time Work	29.71%
Unemployed	4.06%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

70.29% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Acol

What is the population of Acol and Thanet?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Thanet including Acol. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Beacon Road	4803
Birchington North	3802
Birchington South	6436
Bradstowe	4214
Central Harbour	8470
Cliffsend and Pegwell	4672
Cliftonville East	6319
Cliftonville West	10867
Dane Valley	7954
Eastcliff	8375
Garlinge	4726
Kingsgate	2247
Margate Central	6214
Nethercourt	4745
Newington	5478
Northwood	6701
Salmestone	5862
Sir Moses Montefiore	5217
St Peters	6953
Thanet Villages	7726
Viking	7494
Westbrook	4375
Westgate-on-Sea	7808
Thanet Total	141458

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Last updated: 20/02/2024, Additional Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.

Top 20 most depressing towns in Britain 2024